Footsteps in the Forest
by maddizoe
Summary: Rowyn finds herself in an unusual situation, and doesn't remember how she got there. Only time, and a mysterious new guy in town, will reveal what happened that night, and what might happen again.
1. Chapter 1

It's cold.  
I move my arms before I open my eyes. It feels like dirt.  
I should be wrapped up in my bed, why can I feel dirt?  
I open my eyes and take in the scene around me as I sit up slowly. I am outside, in a small clearing in the woods. There are patches of dirt and grass all around me, but mostly trees lining the clearing, and then lots of trees beyond that.  
A breeze blows, reminding me of the cold. I wrap my arms around myself, but feel only skin. I look down. I am naked.  
Naked, in the woods.  
I hug my knees into my chest and start to cry.  
I hear a rustle in the trees behind me, making me jump. I look round, and see nothing. Then the rustling starts again.  
'Hello?' I call out, but nothing answers. Rustling, endless rustling. I jump to my feet and back away from the sound. Then I turn and run, as fast as I can.  
The running feels natural, it feels right. I feel free. Branches and leaves brush past my face and body, some catching my skin and leaving cuts. I run for as long as I can breath easily, which is longer than I imagined. Then I reach the edge of the woods.  
I stop as the town comes into view. I breath a sigh of relief as I realise my house is just a couple of blocks away. I look up at the sky, it can't be past 6am, hopefully most people will be asleep still. I peer across the road, looking for signs of life, but the town seems dead.  
I cautiously walk across the road and round the corner. Still no one around. Then I run again.  
Reaching my front door I realise that I have no keys to get in. I knock hard.  
'Mom?' I shout. 'Mom, please let me in.'  
I hear shuffling footsteps. And then a key in the lock. My Mom stares at me, standing naked in the front door.  
'I can't explain, I'm sorry,' I tell her. She rolls her eyes and shuffles back to her bedroom. She is used to seeing me come home drunk, although I'm pretty certain I haven't had anything to drink this time. I shut the front door and rush into my room. I wrap myself up in bed and close my eyes. It seemed like I slept for a long time, and yet I am still tired.


	2. Chapter 2

When I wake up again it's past noon. I peer through the blinds and see the sun high in the sky.  
I climb out of bed and throw some clothes on; a baggy Nirvana Tee and skinny jeans. I rush downstairs where Mom is knitting in the lounge. She looks up as I bound into the room.  
'Do you remember?' she asks. I turn away, embarrassed.  
'Yes, Mom,' I whine and go to the kitchen.  
'I want an explanation,' she shouts out. 'That's not acceptable behaviour.'  
'I don't know what happened,' I answer, pouring some Fruit Loops into a bowl with some milk. I take the bowl into the lounge and sit on the couch opposite her. She raises her eyebrows at me as I eat.  
'Were you drinking?' she asks.  
'No, I definitely wasn't,' I insist. I know I wasn't, but there's no way to explain it.  
'Then why don't you know?'  
'I just don't, Mom, will you quit it?'  
She stares at me while I finish my bowl of cereal. Still waiting for an answer.  
'I'm sorry. I woke up in the woods, came home, and that's that.' I rush back into the kitchen to wash up my bowl, and try and avoid any further questioning. But I hear her follow me and stand behind me.  
'What do you remember before that?' she asks.  
I think hard. I didn't actually think about this before.  
'I remember... I was with Joy,' I say. Joy has been my best friend for 4 years now, we spend so much time together. Last night I was with her in the park. I hear her voice ringing in my head, and us laughing together. Then I remember screams, Joy's screams. 'I was in the park with Joy. I don't remember anything else. Now please, drop it. It won't happen again.'  
Mom nods and goes back to sit and do her knitting. I decide to call Joy to find out for myself what happened in the park.  
The phone rings, and rings. But there is no answer.  
I ring her house phone.  
'Joy?' I ask when I hear someone pick up the phone.  
'No, this is her Mom,' comes the reply. 'Rowyn, is that you?'  
'Yeah, where's Joy?'  
'She didn't come home last night,' she answers. I hear a slight catch in her throat. 'The police are out searching for her now, we can't get hold of her, and no one has seen her.'  
I nod, then realise she won't see it. 'I'm sure she's fine Mrs Harris.'  
I put the phone down and grab my coat. Those screams ring in my head.  
'Where are you going now?' Mom calls out.  
'Park.'


	3. Chapter 3

The park is two blocks in the opposite direction to the forest. I walk as fast as I can without running. I reach the entrance. But where do I start?  
The swings. That's where I remember being.  
I walk through a line of trees to the swing set and the climbing frame. There is nothing here. A couple of kids play on the climbing frame, but not many people come here to play anymore, and it has become dilapidated. Rust is settled on the climbing frame, and the metal frame of the swings. One of the swings sits wound around the top bar so tight that it is too high for anyone to reach, one swing is missing, although the other two seem usable.  
I walk over to the swings, watching the kids play. They seem happy.  
There doesn't seem to be anything to indicate what happened. I sit on the swing and sigh, kicking my feet on the dirt ground. I wonder to myself where to check next.  
Then out of the corner of my eye I see a splodge of red. My heart wrenches itself into a ball as I take a closer look; blood. It seems to have been smeared on the side of the frame, like someone has grabbed at it with bloody hands. I notice the ground looks as if a fight has taken place. How had I not noticed this before.  
I look around, for more clues, or a trail. The screaming rings again in my head. Drops of blood seem to lead me towards another group of bushes and trees. I follow, and soon drops become more smears. And then it looks as if something, covered in blood, has just been dragged across the floor here, into the bushes.  
Something smells. The stench almost overpowers me.  
I peer through the bushes, my eyes adjusting to the shadows.  
Two eyes stare eerily back at me from the undergrowth. I stumble back in shock, holding in a scream. I look again, the eyes haven't moved. The eyes aren't going to move. I notice the rest; dark skin, dark hair in braids. Joy. But it isn't Joy, this body has been ripped to shreds. Her face is scratched deeply, and all down her body her skin is ripped open, by claw or teeth I can't tell.  
I tear my gaze away from the sickening sight and reach for my cell phone.  
'My friend is dead. Joy Harris. Barks Corner Park. Just past the swings.'  
I sit on the ground, still holding my phone, my hands shaking. I don't cry, I just stare. Numb.


	4. Chapter 4

I watched as the police came to pick up the body and check the scene. Then a couple of the officers comes to ask me some questions.  
'So you found her?' one of them asks me. The other one takes notes on a small pad.  
'Yeah,' I reply, my voice shaking. I'm still in shock.  
'Why were you here?'  
'I was looking for her, she's my best friend,' I tell him. 'Was, she was.' Then I feel a tear roll down my cheek. I wipe it away and look down at the ground.  
'Why did you look here?'  
I know he's just asking me standard questions, but I feel a bit like he's interrogating me. It makes me feel nervous. 'We were here, last night. It's the last place I saw her.'  
'Ok, and you didn't touch her or anything?' he asks. I shake my head. 'Ok, we might need to ask you more questions at some point, but we'll contact you.' He gives me a reassuring squeeze to the shoulder and they walk back to the other officers.  
'Poor thing,' I hear a voice behind me. I turn and see a man, young looking, but definitely older than me. Short red hair, and soft eyes, and quite short for a guy. 'Looks like she was ripped apart by a beast.'  
'What would you know about it?' I ask him sharply.  
'I know quite a lot about beasts,' he says stepping towards me. 'And I've seen this kind of attack before.'  
'So you know what did it?' I press. I glare at him, hoping to intimidate him into telling me, after all, he's no taller than me.  
'I know what and who.'  
'Who?' I ask, maybe a bit too loud. I turn to check on the officers but they don't seem to notice. 'You mean someone made something do this.'  
'Sort of,' he says. He grabs hold of both of my arms, near my shoulders.  
'Stop being cryptic,' I grunt. 'Tell me what did this.'  
'You were there?' he asks. 'When it happened?'  
'Yeah, I guess,' I reply. My mind thinking back to the screams. 'I remember, I heard her screaming.'  
'Then why are you ok I wonder?' he squeezes my shoulders and gives me a knowing look before turning and walking away. I watch him go. He's made me angry, I still have no answers. But he's also made me think. If I was there, why did it not get me?


	5. Chapter 5

Back at home I can't sleep. I lay awake with the image of Joy's body permanently imprinted into my mind. I have already gotten up out of bed a couple of times to be sick.  
I hear something at the window. Is it tapping? It sounds like it, but I'm on the first floor, how would anyone tap on my window. Or it could be small stones. The taps are intimmitent like someone throwing stones.  
I get up and go to the window, pulling up the blind and opening the window to peer out. Below me stands the red headed man from the park.  
'What do you want?' I shout but whisper at the same time.  
'I need you to come with me,' he shouts back, not even caring that someone might hear.  
'But I don't even know you!'  
He raises his eyebrow and folds his arms. And just stands there, waiting. I roll my eyes and shake my head, closing the window.  
'Rowyn!' he calls. I stop in my tracks. How does he know my name? 'Please.'  
I close the window and throw on a pair of jeans and sneakers, still wearing my night shirt; a baggy pink polo shirt. I run as quietly as possible down the stairs and out of the door to see him still waiting.  
'How do you know my name?' I ask, almost aggressively.  
'I know a lot of things about you,' he smiles. It makes me more angry, it feels like he's been stalking me and plans to do something bad. Was he the one that killed Joy? I take a step back towards my door, my heart racing.  
'Well, I know nothing about you,' I press. 'Sharing is caring.'  
'Name's Daniel,' he says, holding his hand out for a handshake. I take it, warily. 'People call me Oz.'  
'Why are you here?' I ask. I want to know as much about him as possible.  
'I came to find you,' he tells me. 'You're in danger.'  
'Like Joy was in danger?'  
'No, it's different,' he starts. I am becoming desperate.  
'Why me?' I ask. Everything he says just creates more questions.  
'You're... special,' he says, thinking of the right words.  
'Special how?'  
'It's difficult to explain,' he says.  
'Then try!' I shout, angry and upset. 'Why did Joy get hurt and I didn't? What's so special about me?'  
'Because it was you that hurt her.'


	6. Chapter 6

_'Because it was you that hurt her.'_  
The words play over in my head. Over and over. I didn't hurt Joy, I know I didn't.  
I sit on the front step, outside my house. I don't want to go inside, I don't know what I would say to Mom.  
'I'm sorry,' says Oz, appearing round the corner. 'I'm sorry you had to find out like that.'  
'How did I do it?' I ask, standing up to look him in the eye. 'No more games, no more avoiding the questions. Just tell me.'  
He takes my hand and looks at it. I look down, and remember the bite wound I have from a dog that attacked me on my way home last month. I pull my hand back.  
'It wasn't a dog,' he says, as if reading my mind. 'It was a werewolf.'  
I stare at him for a few seconds, then I start laughing. 'You're crazy. I knew it.' I turn around and start walking up the steps. He grabs my hand again stopping me. I turn and look into his eyes, deep, beautiful eyes, but they look almost lost, and full of sadness.  
'Do I look like I'm making this up?' he asks me. I shake my head, and sit back down on the porch. 'Like I said, I'm sorry.'  
'So I'm a werewolf now?' I ask, looking down at the bite on my hand.  
'I'm afraid so.' He sits next to me. Somehow I feel comforted by his presence, but I can't stop the tears from forming in my eyes. I wipe my face with my sleeves, and stare at the ground. Then I start sobbing, emotions flooding from me; losing Joy, finding out about the dog bite, it's all too much to keep inside me. I feel his his hand on my shoulder, pulling me close so I can lean on him.  
When I calm down a little I sit up and wipe my face again. I glance quickly at him. 'How do you know this?'  
He stands up and walks towards the empty street. Then he turns to me and gives me a wink. He strips his clothes off and places them on the grass in front of him. Confused and mesmerised, I don't take my eyes off of him.  
The next second, his body starts contorting, his face too. Brown hair sprouts all over his body, long, and thick. Then he looks almost doglike. A werewolf. I shuffle myself as far back towards my house as I can, never tearing my gaze away as he snarls at me.  
'But, it's not a full moon, and it's day time!' I cry out. He walks towards me and then stops right in front of me. I whimper, scared. But he just nuzzles my arm.  
Then he transforms back, and he's human again.  
I stand pinned to the house as he redresses himself.  
'I can control it,' he tells me, I can only just hear him over the sound my heart beat. 'And I'm aware of what I'm doing while I am a wolf now.'  
'How?' I ask, almost a whisper.  
'That's what I'm here to teach you,' he smiles.


End file.
